Keiichi Kitamura

Gallbladder Metastasis of Renal Cell Carcinoma: Report of Two Cases

Abstract We report two extremely rare cases of metastasis to the gallbladder from renal cell carcinoma. In both men, aged 63 and 80 years, a pedunculated polypoid gallbladder tumor was incidentally found 27 and 8 years after surgery for renal cell carcinoma, respectively. The tumors showed hypervascularity on diagnostic imaging. A histopathological examination showed no tumor cells in the gallbladder mucosa, but clear cell carcinoma was predominantly observed below the mucosal layer. Furthermore, based on various specific and immunohistochemical studies as well as the electron-microscopic findings, the patients were pathologically diagnosed to have gallbladder metastasis of renal cell carcinoma.

Rectal malignant melanoma diagnosed by N-isopropyl- p-123I-iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography and 5-S-cysteinyl dopa: report of a case.

Malignant melanoma in the anorectal region is a rare disease associated with a very poor prognosis. Taking a biopsy of malignant melanoma is generally contraindicated because of the high risk of inducing metastasis. Although clinical examination and imaging findings are important for the preoperative diagnosis, conventional imaging techniques sometimes fail to provide information from which an accurate diagnosis can be made. We recently treated an 84-year-old woman with rectal malignant melanoma, in whom magnetic resonance imaging showed atypical findings. On the other hand, N-isopropyl-p-123I-iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography and 5-S-cysteinyl dopa in blood serum, as a tumor marker of malignant melanoma, proved very effective for establishing the preoperative diagnosis. Despite radical abdominoperineal resection, the patient died of multiple liver and lung metastases about 5 months after surgery.

Strategies for management of bile duct injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

We encountered 10 patients with bile duct injuries during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Their causes were electrocautery in 2 patients, misjudgment in 2, mechanical injury in 3, aberrant bile duct in 2, and weakness of the bile duct wall in one. The sites of injury were cystic duct in 4 patients, common bile duct in 2, aberrant bile duct in 2, common hepatic duct in one, and common bile duct plus right hepatic duct in one. Treatments for the injuries discovered intraoperatively consisted of T-tube drainage above in 2 patients, re-ligation of the cystic duct in one, ligation of an aberrant bile duct in one, simple suture and T-tube in one, and choledochojejunostomy in one. In the remaining 4 patients discovered postoperatively, 2 were conservatively treated by endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage. The duration of hospitalization was 9–12 days in the 4 patients with simple suture or ligation, 10–21 days in 2 cases of bile drainage, and 34–43 days in 3 with T-tube drainage. The patient with choledochojejunostomy suffered repeated cholangitis, resulting in hepatic abscess with hospitalization for 6 months. Since laparoscopic surgery should be minimally invasive, meticulous attention is necessary before and during surgery to avoid bile duct injury.